Heather Stewart's economics comment + Economic recovery | The Guardianhttps://www.theguardian.com/business/series/heather-stewart-s-economics-comment+economic-recovery
Indexen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2016Fri, 09 Dec 2016 17:26:28 GMT2016-12-09T17:26:28Zen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2016The Guardianhttps://assets.guim.co.uk/images/guardian-logo-rss.c45beb1bafa34b347ac333af2e6fe23f.pnghttps://www.theguardian.com
Ghosts of crashes past still haunt this consumer Christmashttps://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/nov/08/ghosts-financial-crashes-past-haunt-consumer-christmas
The narrative of economic recovery seems to promise a seasonal retail bonanza. But, as the Bank of England recognises, things are not as festive as they appear<p>Britain’s retailers are hanging out the tinsel and looking forward to a bumper Christmas, with unemployment down, living standards finally climbing and house prices on the rise. But if everything is set fair for a festive blowout, why does the Bank of England still think it’s too soon to raise interest rates?</p><p>Part of the answer is that, as governor Mark Carney made clear at his quarterly inflation report briefing last week, the shaky state of global economies, including China’s, means they have to balance the strength of domestic demand against over headwinds from overseas. But it’s more than that: the Bank is acutely conscious that the recovery remains fragile, unbalanced and vulnerable to external shocks.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/nov/08/ghosts-financial-crashes-past-haunt-consumer-christmas">Continue reading...</a>Economic recoveryEconomicsEconomic growth (GDP)Bank of EnglandEconomic policyBusinessPoliticsBorrowing & debtMoneySun, 08 Nov 2015 09:00:04 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/nov/08/ghosts-financial-crashes-past-haunt-consumer-christmasPhotograph: Anthony Harvey/Getty ImagesPhotograph: Anthony Harvey/Getty ImagesHeather Stewart2015-11-08T09:00:04ZThat’s why the country’s in such a state: too many bankershttps://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/jun/21/too-many-bankers-country-state-economy-inequality-productivity
New work from the OECD concludes that Britain’s inequality, poor productivity and lack of investment can all be laid at the door of a bloated financial sector<p>When banking goes bad, everyone suffers: that is a lesson taxpayers up and down Britain have learned the hard way over the past seven years or so. But the latest evidence suggests that even when it’s not collapsing into the arms of the state, a large finance sector is a debilitating drain on an economy.</p><p>Catherine L Mann, twinkly-eyed chief economist for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, brought a harsh message to the heart of Europe’s great financial centre last week: <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/jun/17/oecd-report-large-financial-banking-sectors-slow-growth-wider-inequality" title="">too much finance is bad for you</a>.</p><p>The sheer size of Britain’s banking sector fundamentally distorts its economic model</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/jun/21/too-many-bankers-country-state-economy-inequality-productivity">Continue reading...</a>BankingBanking reformFinancial sectorFinancial crisisEconomic growth (GDP)EqualityEconomic policyEconomic recoveryBusinessSun, 21 Jun 2015 07:59:02 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/jun/21/too-many-bankers-country-state-economy-inequality-productivityPhotograph: /David LeveneResearch reveals that too much finance is very bad for any economy. Photograph: David LevenePhotograph: /David LeveneResearch reveals that too much finance is very bad for any economy. Photograph: David LeveneHeather Stewart2015-06-21T07:59:02ZBudget 2015: George Osborne’s new Jerusalem isn’t on the horizon yethttps://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/mar/15/budget-2015-george-osborne-new-jerusalem
The chancellor promised many things in the 2010 ‘emergency’ budget. How close has he come to delivering?<p>When George Osborne delivers what could be his last budget on Wednesday, just weeks before the election, it will be a time to look forward: the chancellor’s annual day in the spotlight will set the tone of the Tories’ campaign, and perhaps even lay the groundwork for a future leadership bid.</p><p>But lest we get too swept along by the theatrics of the occasion, and the practised rhetoric of this consummate politician, it’s worth comparing his record over the past five years with the task he set himself in the “emergency” budget of 2010.</p><p>On prosperity being shared by “all sections of society”, the chancellor's record is woeful</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/mar/15/budget-2015-george-osborne-new-jerusalem">Continue reading...</a>George OsborneEconomic growth (GDP)EconomicsEconomic policyEconomic recoveryUK newsBusinessBudgetPoliticsSun, 15 Mar 2015 09:00:07 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/mar/15/budget-2015-george-osborne-new-jerusalemPhotograph: Martin Argles/GuardianGeorge Osborne in 2010, about to deliver his 'emergency' budget. Photograph: Martin Argles for the GuardianPhotograph: Martin Argles/GuardianGeorge Osborne in 2010, about to deliver his 'emergency' budget. Photograph: Martin Argles for the GuardianHeather Stewart2015-03-15T09:00:07ZWhat good's a job-rich recovery if the workers stay poor?https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/dec/08/autumn-statement-cost-of-living-crisis-wages
George Osborne's answer to the weakness of British wages is to deny that the problem exists<p>George Osborne's <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/dec/05/autumn-statement-george-osborne-austerity-plans" title="">autumn statement </a> was an all-purpose political pick-and-mix of tax cuts for shopkeepers and pennies off at the pump, liberally sprinkled with "don't let Labour ruin it" rhetoric.</p><p>To the extent that it had a guiding principle, it was to shut down Labour's argument about the cost of living crisis by giving the hard-pressed British public a few goodies, and exhorting them to wait for jam tomorrow, when the "job-rich recovery" really takes hold.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/dec/08/autumn-statement-cost-of-living-crisis-wages">Continue reading...</a>Economic policyEconomicsPayAutumn statement 2013George OsborneEconomic growth (GDP)PoliticsEconomic recoveryBusinessSun, 08 Dec 2013 00:05:52 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/dec/08/autumn-statement-cost-of-living-crisis-wagesPhotograph: David Levene/GuardianPackers at work at Amazon, Milton Keynes. Many British workers live a low-paid, helpless existence. Photograph: David Levene for the GuardianPhotograph: David Levene/GuardianPackers at work at Amazon, Milton Keynes. Many British workers live a low-paid, helpless existence. Photograph: David Levene for the GuardianHeather Stewart2013-12-08T00:05:52ZHelp to Buy risks helping to create another housing bubblehttps://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/apr/28/help-to-buy-help-create-housing-bubble
In his 'emergency' budget in 2010, George Osborne pledged to create a less debt-fuelled economy. Where is that promise now?<p>The late Eddie George, in 2002, brought the phrase "two-speed economy" into common parlance, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/business/2002/jan/15/interestrates.interestrates" title="">telling an audience in Scotland</a>: "We have taken the view that unbalanced growth in our present situation is better than no growth – or, as some commentators have put it, a two-speed economy is better than a no-speed economy."</p><p>But his words could just as well have been applied to last week's GDP figures. While it was undoubtedly great news that the UK has skirted around a "triple dip", the breakdown of the numbers suggested that, far from achieving the rebalancing George Osborne hoped for, away from consumers and towards industry, the mix of growth looks much as it did a decade ago. Manufacturing output declined; services expanded; government spending made a positive contribution. Industrial output is still 10% below its pre-crisis peak.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/apr/28/help-to-buy-help-create-housing-bubble">Continue reading...</a>Economic policyEconomic growth (GDP)Economic recoveryEconomicsGeorge OsborneHelp-to-buy schemeFirst-time buyersMortgagesPoliticsMoneyBusinessSat, 27 Apr 2013 23:05:53 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/apr/28/help-to-buy-help-create-housing-bubblePhotograph: ReutersGeorge Osborne: helping to buy, not helping to build. Photograph: ReutersPhotograph: ReutersGeorge Osborne: helping to buy, not helping to build. Photograph: ReutersHeather Stewart2013-04-27T23:05:53ZLet's play fantasy economics. Things could really get betterhttps://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/feb/17/fantasy-economics-things-get-better
A family-oriented nation of fairness, social justice and mutual ownership? It exists – just not all in one place<p>Do you grudgingly accept there is no fundamental alternative to how things are, hard times and difficult choices? Then come to Goodland. You might want to live here.</p><p>Its president refuses the state mansion. He gives away 90% of his pay, living on the national average wage to share in the struggles of his people. Goodland has a new constitution, written by citizens. When its financial sector fell apart, speculators had to take their losses and the guilty were taken to court, not given a public bailout.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/feb/17/fantasy-economics-things-get-better">Continue reading...</a>Economic recoveryEconomicsEconomic growth (GDP)BankingFinancial crisisBusinessSun, 17 Feb 2013 00:06:03 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/feb/17/fantasy-economics-things-get-betterPhotograph: Pablo Porciuncula/AFP/Getty ImagesUruguayan president José Mujica lives on £450 a month, has a guard of two policemen and a three-legged dog, and drives a 1987 VW Beetle. Photograph: Pablo Porciuncula/AFP/Getty ImagesPhotograph: Pablo Porciuncula/AFP/Getty ImagesUruguayan president José Mujica lives on £450 a month, has a guard of two policemen and a three-legged dog, and drives a 1987 VW Beetle. Photograph: Pablo Porciuncula/AFP/Getty ImagesAndrew Simms2013-02-17T00:06:03ZThis is the end of boom and bust: we need a new vocabularyhttps://www.theguardian.com/business/2012/oct/28/end-of-boom-bust-need-new-vocabulary
For politicians weaned on well-defined episodes of recession and recovery, this long, slow and difficult economic retrenchment will require a change of policy – and language<p>Politicians on both sides of the divide reached for the Bumper Book of Cliches last week as they reacted to the news that the double-dip recession was over.</p><p>For George Osborne, it was evidence that his policies had put us "on the right track"; while Ed Balls – whose analysis of the economy has repeatedly been proved correct over the past two years – insisted this was "no time for complacency" (is there ever a time?).</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2012/oct/28/end-of-boom-bust-need-new-vocabulary">Continue reading...</a>Economic growth (GDP)Economic recoveryEconomicsEconomic policyPoliticsBusinessSat, 27 Oct 2012 23:20:06 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/business/2012/oct/28/end-of-boom-bust-need-new-vocabularyPhotograph: PABoom time? David Cameron's promise that the good economic news would keep on coming has not been echoed by George Osborne. Photograph: PAPhotograph: PABoom time? David Cameron's promise that the good economic news would keep on coming has not been echoed by George Osborne. Photograph: PAHeather Stewart2012-10-27T23:20:06ZInequality wasn't the answer: in fact, it was our downfall | Heather Stewarthttps://www.theguardian.com/business/2012/may/26/inequality-downfall-heather-stewart
The widening gap between rich and poor was supposed to have been the price worth paying for economic stability. In fact, it led to debts that could stunt growth for years<p>At last week's <a href="http://www.oecd.org/site/0,3407,en_21571361_46558043_1_1_1_1_1,00.html" title="">OECD forum</a> in Paris – a gathering of the great and the good from the world of economics and public policy – much of the focus was on the drama being acted out in Brussels, as Europe's leaders met over dinner and failed, yet again, to resolve the debt crisis.</p><p>But apart from trying to guess Angela Merkel's next move, there was one hot political topic that came up repeatedly in Paris: inequality. The Occupy protesters may have been forced to move their motley collection of tents from outside St Paul's, but their argument that something has gone profoundly wrong with a capitalism that has allowed "the 99%" to fall so far behind has hit a nerve.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2012/may/26/inequality-downfall-heather-stewart">Continue reading...</a>EqualityBorrowing & debtEconomic growth (GDP)EconomicsEconomic recoveryEconomic policyBusinessPoliticsSocietyMoneyUK newsSat, 26 May 2012 22:20:25 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/business/2012/may/26/inequality-downfall-heather-stewartPhotograph: Javier Lizon/EPAIndignado protesters demonstrate against economic inequality and the global financial system in Spain. Photograph: Javier Lizon/EPAPhotograph: Javier Lizon/EPAIndignado protesters demonstrate against economic inequality and the global financial system in Spain. Photograph: Javier Lizon/EPAHeather Stewart2012-05-26T22:20:25ZThis one-trick coalition is too cautious to do anything but cuthttps://www.theguardian.com/business/2012/mar/18/coalition-cuts-budget-policies
Big ideas and connected thinking are required to get Britain back on its feet. But coalition debate in the runup to the budget has degenerated into internal political horse-trading<p>Perhaps it's inevitable that in times of austerity, politics is fought out on ever-narrowing turf. But the discussion in the runup to this week's budget has been a particularly impoverished one.</p><p>In theory, coalition government should lead to more open debate, with a wider range of views being aired in public. In practice, it has caused the pre-budget discussions that once took place behind closed doors in Whitehall to burst out into the open – at least in part so that Lib Dem ministers can salve their consciences by saying that even if they didn't get their way, they were on the side of the righteous.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2012/mar/18/coalition-cuts-budget-policies">Continue reading...</a>Budget 2012Economic growth (GDP)EconomicsEconomic policyEconomic recoveryLiberal-Conservative coalitionConservativesLiberal DemocratsBusinessBudgetPoliticsUK newsSun, 18 Mar 2012 00:06:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/business/2012/mar/18/coalition-cuts-budget-policiesPhotograph: ReutersThe coalition 'quad' – David Cameron, George Osborne, Danny Alexander and Nick Clegg – after Osborne's autumn statement in 2010. Photograph: ReutersPhotograph: ReutersThe coalition 'quad' – David Cameron, George Osborne, Danny Alexander and Nick Clegg – after Osborne's autumn statement in 2010. Photograph: ReutersHeather Stewart2012-03-18T00:06:00ZLaissez-faire has failed us. Now we're getting panicky interventionhttps://www.theguardian.com/business/2011/nov/27/laissez-faire-failed-panicky-intervention
The coalition came to power with the promise of austerity and small government. Now, on the brink of disaster, state-sponsored initiatives are suddenly back in fashion<p>For families stuck in cramped and overpriced rental accommodation who'd love to get a place of their own, last week's housing strategy must have seemed like a godsend: 100,000 people would be helped to buy a home, and scores of stalled construction schemes up and down the country kickstarted with taxpayers' cash.</p><p>But at second glance, the package is neither as generous nor as radical as it sounds; and it speaks volumes about the way the coalition thinks.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2011/nov/27/laissez-faire-failed-panicky-intervention">Continue reading...</a>Economic growth (GDP)Economic policyEconomic recoveryLiberal-Conservative coalitionConservativesPoliticsEconomicsBusinessHousingCommunitiesSocietyAusteritySun, 27 Nov 2011 00:06:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/business/2011/nov/27/laissez-faire-failed-panicky-interventionPhotograph: Lucy Ray/PANick Clegg announcing his Youth Contract – an initiative suspiciously like Labour's Future Jobs Fund. Photograph: Lucy Ray/PAPhotograph: Lucy Ray/PANick Clegg announcing his Youth Contract – an initiative suspiciously like Labour's Future Jobs Fund. Photograph: Lucy Ray/PAHeather Stewart2011-11-27T00:06:00ZThese bailouts aren't democracy. What's worse, they aren't even a rescuehttps://www.theguardian.com/business/2011/nov/13/bailouts-arent-democracy-they-arent-even-a-rescue
The idea that Italy's and Greece's new technocratic governments will be apolitical is nonsense. And it's becoming clear that, in Athens, austerity is already turning a crisis into a disaster<p>Investors are breathing a sigh of relief after a tumultuous week, with at least a semblance of stability restored to Italy and Greece. But the past seven days have also flipped the euro to reveal a new face – and it wasn't a pretty one.</p><p>The deeply undemocratic nature of the euro project had already been laid bare in Cannes by the European elite's outraged response to George Papandreou's announcement that he would hold a referendum on the latest "rescue" package for his country.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2011/nov/13/bailouts-arent-democracy-they-arent-even-a-rescue">Continue reading...</a>Eurozone crisisEconomic recoveryGlobal economyEconomicsBusinessEconomic policyPoliticsItalyGreeceAusteritySun, 13 Nov 2011 00:06:06 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/business/2011/nov/13/bailouts-arent-democracy-they-arent-even-a-rescuePhotograph: Yannis Behrakis/ReutersPrime minister Lucas Papademos of Greece: his supposedly technocratic government will have to make hugely politically contentious decisions. Photograph: Yannis Behrakis/ReutersPhotograph: Yannis Behrakis/ReutersPrime minister Lucas Papademos of Greece: his supposedly technocratic government will have to make hugely politically contentious decisions. Photograph: Yannis Behrakis/ReutersHeather Stewart2011-11-13T00:06:06Z